Walks through Spain, Italy and other places

Ponte Ulla – Santiago de Compostella October 27th

For dinner last night I thought it was time to take the plunge and try some Pulpo a la Gallega. This octopus dish is very popular in Galicia and actually has a long history. It was very popular with farmers coming into town for cattle markets and has a resulting alternate name of Pulpo a Feira.

It was only a 20km walk today through similar country to previous days

The bus shelters around here are very cute – shaped like Hórreos!

Many of the fields have grape vines around their borders and I walked through this beautiful arbor.

People take a lot of pride in their homes and villages with lots of gardens

I thought I must have been getting close when I came over a hill and there in the distance was the cathedral!

One last medieval bridge, one last feed of figs from a roadside tree.

There were lots of pilgrims wandering around wondering what to do next like me. The impressive. building at the back was originally the pilgrims hostel and dates back to the 15th century. It’s now a very posh hotel – not many pilgrims staying there! They do offer free meals from the staff canteen to the first 20? Pilgrims in the queue each day as part of their tradition.

I should have stayed in an albergue with bunk beds one more time but somehow I felt detached from the other pilgrims I saw. Many were in big groups and I saw lots with just little day packs. I think the fellowship I had along the way is what to remember. Also I could do with the sleep without all the snoring!

I little old lady came up to me touting her rooms for rent so I went with the flow. This is my little attic room for three nights until my flight back to Italy on Sunday

In the afternoon I went to the pilgrim’s office to get my certificates. I thought I’d done pretty well but there was a couple who had walked over 2,400km from somewhere in Switzerland!

This is what my credencial or pilgrim’s passport ended up looking like.

Congratulations Paul. Beautiful certificates. Thank you so much for sharing your long and amazing journey. I will miss opening your blog each day to see where you’ve been, your photos of the countryside and villages and the people you’ve met. Your photos are perfect records of your pilgrimage. Keep us posted re your impressions of Santiago.
How are you feeling now that you’ve reached your destination? I hope you’re meeting up with some of your fellow pilgrims.